Eben Freeman at the Butterfly Bar in NYC.

Eben Freeman is learning that when it comes to brandy old-fashioneds, it's not a fair fight.

He's head of bar operations for the Butterfly, the Wisconsin-themed supper club and watering hole that Beloit-born chef Michael White opened this past summer in New York City.

The prototype for the Butterfly is the Butterfly Club in Beloit, where White worked as a kid.

Freeman, one of New York's most acclaimed mixologists, is also head of bar operations for White's Altamarea Group of restaurants — so he knows cocktails.

But one thing he's only recently come to understand is that "people from Wisconsin are really passionate about their brandy cocktails."

Parched Wisconsinites occasionally wander in and let him know what they think — thumbs up or down — about the way he makes a brandy old-fashioned.

And, by way of defense, he would like to gently remind people — meaning us — that this is a New York City restaurant, so please don't be "disappointed" if the drinks are not exactly the way they would be in a Wisconsin supper club.

But he swears the old-fashioned he serves doesn't "stray too far from the original," although he uses a vacuum system to draw out the flavorful oils from the citrus peel. Tillen Farms maraschino cherries, made without artificial ingredients, also go into the vacuum.

As he explained during a phone conversation, the result is "the same as muddling, but it's faster for the bartender" because the syrup is made ahead.

"We do get requests for muddled fruit," he said.

For brandy, he goes with Korbel, which is Wisconsin's favorite. "It makes a smooth, easy-to-drink cocktail."

Whiskey old-fashioneds have become the standard over the years, but Freeman notes that brandy versions are "more true to the prototype," dating to the 1850s, because they would have used cognac back then.

Freeman was shaken up when someone — no, this person was not wearing a cheesehead, thank heavens —walked in and ordered a brandy old-fashioned with olives.

"I'd never heard of that before," he said.

And, while you're at it, why not make it a brandy old-fashioned sweet with double olives?

And yes, this bartender says, people from the Badger State often like to top it up with 7UP.

Freeman's tone is bemused when he recalls "the guest who walked in and asked for sour mix" instead of lemon in a brandy old-fashioned sour. And he acknowledges that this ready-made mixer was "very popular in midcentury America." According to Freeman, "most bars sill use it, but cocktail purists don't — we use fresh lemon."

The truth is, however, that Freeman's own father, who is from Maine, prefers the taste of sour mix.

Large ice cubes are one of the niceties that this Big Apple barman and fussy Wisconsinites can agree on.

"In addition to the visual appeal, the large ice cubes keeps the drink colder longer — and there's more room for the booze," he said.